Chapter 264: A big lie

Lucia clenched her fists tightly, her eyes glowing with a terrifying crimson light. She would not allow the angels to kill another precious person. She would not accept losing again.

"Don’t touch him," her voice echoed through the hall with overwhelming force.

The sacred hall trembled as Lucia’s magic exploded like a crimson wave. Thick red vines covered in thorns sprang from nowhere, tearing through the golden walls of the cathedral and entwining themselves around the angels. Every wing was immobilized, every chanting voice silenced by screams as the thorns pierced their immortal flesh.

The battlefield, once flooded with blinding light, was now stained in scarlet, as if the blood of the earth itself had risen to protect Liam.

Gabriel, who until then had observed with cold and serene eyes, finally moved. The most powerful of the archangels spread his majestic wings, and his mere presence was enough to make the air grow heavy, as if gravity itself had increased.

He descended upon Lucia like a divine sentence, the sword in his hand blazing with celestial fire. The redhead raised her vines in a final act of resistance, forming walls and shields before her. Each strike from Gabriel shattered dozens of them into fragments, but Lucia did not retreat.

"I will not... let you take him!" she cried, her voice strained by pain and hatred.

The archangel pierced the last barrier and, with a swift movement, his blade drove through Lucia’s chest.

Blood gushed out, scarlet against the gold of the cathedral. She gasped, nearly collapsing, yet still smiled with a dark gleam in her eyes.

Even at the brink of death, she wore a confident smile, after all...

"My true trump card would only be revealed... when I died," she murmured in an inaudible tone.

The blood flowing from her wound came alive, slithering through the air like red serpents. In an instant, it coiled around Gabriel’s body, binding his wings, arms, and legs. Crystallized blood thorns pierced his skin, and even the divine aura emanating from him was suffocated by the crimson prison.

As the archangel roared, struggling to break free, Lucia’s remaining vines crawled toward Liam.

They wrapped around his fallen body. The sinister energy caused no harm; on the contrary, the magic completely healed the man.

Liam inhaled deeply, the air filling his lungs like renewing fire. His eyes opened, crackling with a crimson glow.

He felt even stronger than before; an intense power coursed through his entire body.

Before him, Gabriel roared in captivity, and the angels still struggled against the bloody, thorned vines.

Now it was time for Liam to end that charade.

Looking around, he noticed that Lila and Zoe, who had arrived during the battle, were still resisting weakly.

Jasmin, on the other hand, had been crushed by the mass of enemies, her body pierced by dozens of spears.

"Enough," Liam’s voice echoed through the hall as his chains bound Gabriel in an eternal dream.

Normally he would not be able to cast eternal sleep on such a powerful enemy, but Gabriel was weakened at that moment.

"If you move a single muscle, I will kill him," Liam threatened.

For a moment, the other archangels hesitated upon seeing their leader in that condition. Sensing their commanders’ hesitation, the ordinary angels also stopped moving.

"Why don’t we end this here?" he declared as his aura expanded in a terrifying manner.

"You’ve already killed the two of them anyway," Liam admitted in a frustrated tone, his eyes scanning Maria’s and Lucia’s bodies.

"Human, do you believe we will forgive the crime of opposing God’s army?" Uriel, second in command, declared arrogantly.

"Then I suppose you wish to lose a good portion of that army today?" Liam replied as his chains spread aggressively throughout the hall.

"I would say challenging the king of the dream race is a grave mistake," Liam completed his threat, causing all the angels except the archangels to fall into eternal sleep.

"Cursed one," Uriel muttered, but he was forced to step back. "I did not know you had already succeeded that unpleasant man."

"In any case, I know you can heal common angels killed in battle," Liam stated.

Most angels did not even possess true personalities; they were merely soldiers who followed orders. Only the archangels or their children could think for themselves.

Therefore, the only true loss the angels had suffered was Aria, whom Liam had killed.

"You killed one of mine," Liam said, his gaze resting on Jasmin. "And you have already eliminated your targets. Is it really worth continuing this fight? How many archangels have you lost?"

"What do you want?"

"I already told you. Promise you will leave us in peace, and I will release all those trapped in my eternal dream."

Uriel swallowed his pride as if it were bitter and, after a moment, said, "Very well. We promise."

Angels cannot break their promises, and that was all the confirmation Liam needed. So he released Gabriel.

Gabriel, still bound by the blood vines, took a deep breath; pain and pride gave way to restrained command. With a broad gesture, the divine light surrounding him shifted focus: the wounds of the fallen soldiers began to reverse, flesh closing, fallen wings regaining movement.

Within seconds, the common angels stood once more, stunned, healed, yet humiliated.

The archangel then opened a radiant portal, first a narrow arch that would carry Lila, Zoe, and Liam back to the world they had left, a safe path wrapped in celestial golden threads.

Then another portal appeared, larger and solemn, through which the entire angelic contingent withdrew in military order, without looking back.

And with that, the lies ended. The angels, just as they had arrived, departed without further battle.

Left behind on the battlefield was Aria, who had driven her axe into Liam’s back.

As well as Maria, Lucia, and Jasmin, who were safe, having never entered combat. In shock, they watched as the angels departed.

After all, it had all been a dream.

The first to react was Lilith, who truly understood the gravity of what Liam had done.

She ran to where he stood, pushing Aria aside. The woman did not react, her eyes empty, as she had been condemned to an eternal nightmare.

Liam would not allow the one who had tortured one of his women to escape with her life.

The problem was that the wound he had suffered while using his body to save Lucia was still there, and his blood flowed dangerously.

Unlike in the dream, Liam had no power to regenerate instantly.

And so he collapsed, his body slowly losing strength.

"Quick, help me, we need to heal him," Lilith cried in desperation.